Sanjay Kumar, J.

1. The petitioner is the applicant in O.A. No. 2358 of 2016 on the file of the Andhra Pradesh Administrative Tribunal, Hyderabad (for brevity, ‘the Tribunal’). By order dated 24.06.2016, the Tribunal admitted the O.A. and while ordering notice to the respondents, directed that the final allocation of the petitioner to the State of Telangana would be subject to the final result in the O.A. Aggrieved by the denial of interim relief, the petitioner is before this Court. The petitioner was appointed as a Lecturer at Kurnool in Zone IV on 20.07.1992 and was thereafter transferred to Visakhapatnam in Zone I on her own request, as her husband was working at BHEL, Visakhapatnam. She thereupon took the last rank in terms of seniority in the cadre of Lecturers at Visakhapatnam. She was promoted as a Principal in September, 2012, basing upon her reduced seniority. After bifurcation of the erstwhile State of Andhra Pradesh, the authorities sought her option for allocation to one of the newly formed States. Guidelines in this regard were communicated vide G.O.Ms. No. 312 dated 30.10.2014. The total number of posts of Principals were 256, of which 140 were allotted to the new State of Andhra Pradesh and 116 to the State of Telangana. Admittedly, 23 vacancies in the said post fell to the lot of the State of Andhra Pradesh, while 9 vacancies were in the State of Telangana.

2. The petitioner opted for the State of Andhra Pradesh, as shehad herself sought transfer to Zone I on spousal grounds and was still continuing in service there. Despite her option and the availability of vacancies, the Committee constituted by the Government of India tentatively allotted her to the State of Telangana in the list dated 02.06.2015. Aggrieved by this allotment, she filed O.A. No. 5088 of 2015 before the Tribunal, wherein interim orders were passed directing the authorities to maintain status quo. Pursuant thereto, she continued to work at Visakhapatnam in Zone I in the new State of Andhra Pradesh. However, during the pendency of this O.A., final allocation orders were passed on 10.11.2015, whereby she was again allocated to the State of Telangana. The pending O.A. was closed in the light of this development. However, aggrieved by her final allocation, she filed O.A. No. 2358 of 2016. As the Tribunal did not grant her interim relief and made her allocation subject to the result of the O.A., she filed the present writ petition. The Assistant Secretary to the Government, General Administration Department, Andhra Pradesh, filed a counter-affidavit stating as follows:

The Government of India approved the guidelines for allocation of the State employees between the successor States of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh vide G.O.Ms. No. 312 dated 30.10.2014. In terms of Para 19 of the said guidelines, employees were to be allocated only after taking options from them. The petitioner, a local of the State of Telangana, exercised her option to be allocated to the new State of Andhra Pradesh. She was however tentatively allocated to the State of Telangana. She put in a representation stating that her studies were in Telangana but she was appointed as a Lecturer in Kurnool in the erstwhile State of Andhra Pradesh, in September, 1992, wherefrom she sought transfer on spousal grounds to Visakhapatnam in Zone I. She further stated that her husband belonged to Andhra Pradesh and was working in a non-transferable post in BHEL at Visakhapatnam where her sons were also undergoing their education. She pointed out that vacancies were available at Visakhapatnam and sought accommodation there. The Assistant Secretary admitted that 23 vacancies in the posts of Principal were allotted to the State of Andhra Pradesh along with 117 filled posts.

3. The Under Secretary, Department of Personnel and Training, Government of India, filed a counter wherein he stated thus:

Though the petitioner was appointed in Zone IV in 1992 and was transferred to Zone I at her request, sh